Blood disease death rate cut in Doncaster hospitals

Health bosses have ‘significantly reduced’ the number of people dying in Doncaster’s hospitals from a form of blood poisoning.

Bosses at the Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Doncaster Royal Infirmary and Mexborough Montagu Hospital, say the survival death rate for patients who suffer from sepsis has fallen from 25 per cent in January to 12.9 per cent currently.

Sepsis is a life-threatening illness caused by the body overreacting to an infection.

The immune system goes into overdrive, setting off a series of reactions that can lead to widespread swelling and blood clotting.

That can interfere with vital organs like the heart, liver and kidneys, eventually causing them to start shutting down due to lack of oxygen.

Doctors at the trust said providing intensive training on how to spot the early signs of sepsis, and what to do about it, has increased the survival rate for identified patients attending the Emergency Department.

It is highly treatable in its early stages but, once it becomes severe, between 30 and 50 per cent of people die within a month.

It causes approximately 1,400 deaths worldwide every day – more than breast cancer, prostate cancer and HIV/AIDS combined.

Since the training launched in January it has been completed by around 100 of the staff in the Emergency Departments at DRI and Bassetlaw Hospital.

There is now a sepsis team with specialist knowledge within the department who can train other members of the department.

Consultant critical care nurse Lee Cutler, who led the improvement project with the Emergency Department’s sepsis team, said: “Sepsis is the main cause of death from infection and rates appear to be increasing worldwide, so it’s very important that health staff know how to spot the early signs and the interventions that can help stop it becoming more severe.”